


The Cycle of Violence

by KingHippiedude (missreader)



Series: Gender and Violence Community Activism Project [2]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Domestic Violence, F/M, Past Domestic Violence, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 05:48:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5152601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missreader/pseuds/KingHippiedude
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carolyn Knapp-Shappey has bruises on her skin, courtesy of her husband Gordon. They bring back memories of her first husband, and of similar bruises left on her mother's skin by her father.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Cycle of Violence

**Author's Note:**

> This fic (and the others in the collection) was written for a school project. If you could please leave a comment after you read so that I can prove to my professor that I reached people it would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Carolyn stood in front of the mirror looking at the bruises Gordon had left on her arms. She would have to wear long sleeves when she went out for groceries later. This was the first time he had ever left a mark, but Carolyn knew it wouldn’t be the last. It had been the same with her first husband and with her father.

_Carolyn had sworn to herself that she would never be like her mother, never stay with a man who was hurting her. But this was different. Ian loved her… right?_ No, _she forced herself to recognize._ This isn’t what love looks like. If he loved her, he wouldn’t hurt her. _So she packed her bags and left before he returned from work._

Carolyn heard Arthur start crying in the hallway. He was eight now, and he didn’t really understand what was happening. She and Gordon had been yelling until he stormed out a few minutes earlier. She picked Arthur up and held him close on the sofa, trying to comfort him and calm him down.

_Carolyn stayed at her sister’s house for a week before she went back to Ian. He wasn’t so bad, really. It was just the one time. He was a good person, and they loved each other. But it happened again eventually. And eventually she left for good, finding an apartment on her own and eventually a new husband._

“Hey, Arthur,” Carolyn said quietly. “We’re going on a little holiday, just the two of us. How does that sound?”

Arthur’s smile was brilliant as he replied, “that sounds fun, mummy!”

“Alright, let’s go pack you a bag.” And they packed a suitcase full of Arthur’s clothes and books and toys. And Carolyn grabbed photos and other keepsakes too and put them in with her own clothes.

She knew that Gordon probably wouldn’t be back until morning, but she wanted to get Arthur out of the house as soon as possible anyways. She would never get over the fear she experienced when Gordon had threatened their son. She found the cheapest hotel she could and paid for a week in advance.

_Her romance with Gordon had been glamorous, like something out of a fairy tale. She was a stewardess - the only job she could find after leaving Ian - and Gordon was a wealthy passenger who offered her a job on his own private jet. They had a whirlwind romance, travelling around the world, and he proposed on top of the Eiffel Tower within months after they first met._

Carolyn stayed away for good this time. She withdrew all of her money from the bank account she shared with Gordon and found a lawyer to take her case. She won the jet in which they had first fallen in love. It was a bittersweet memory, but now she would make new ones in this jet.

**Author's Note:**

> The intergenerational cycle of violence is a cyclical pattern of violence in which children who grow up in homes where one parent is violent towards the other and/or to the children, those children are more vulnerable to being in violent relationships as adults.
> 
> Information about and domestic violence and resources for victims/survivors can be found at [The National Domestic Violence Hotline website](http://www.thehotline.org/).


End file.
